The book consists of a series of episodes in the lives of Mary Smith and her friends, Miss Matty and Miss Deborah, two spinster sisters.

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1845 edition. Excerpt: ...ox escapes; and of cpurse his end of the yoke falls down to the ground. The boys stopped the steers and got them together again at the side of the road, just as I came up, and they were trying to yoke up again the one that had got away. The smallest boy was holding up the bow in its place, and the other, who Was considerably larger, was trying to put in the pin; but it seems that the small boy did not hold it up quite high enough, for the other called out to him, in a very loud and angry, and very imperious tone, " ' Why don't you hold up that bow, you fool?' " I looked.out at him as I was passing, and said, ' Keep good-natured, my boy; the beauty of breaking steers is to keep good-natured.'" " What did he say to that?" asked Marco. " I don't know," replied Forester; "he stared at me very earnestly while I was saying it, but the moment that I finished my sentence, I was just opposite to him, and instantly afterwards the side of my chaise advancing, cut off the whole group from my view, so that I could not even see how he looked." Marco seemed quite interested in this story, and then he wanted Forester to tell him of some other scenes which were witnessed in travelling in the country. " A short time after this, as I was going along, I saw a red building by the side of the road, which looked a little like a school-house, but I suppose it was a town-house." " What is a town-house? " asked Marco. " It corresponds to the City Hall in New York," replied Forester. " But I will explain that to you some other time. In front of this town-house was a company of soldiers in the road. They were marching towards me in a broad column, which filled up the road entirely. Presently they halted and remained as they were, occupying the whole road. I did not see how...